Coke oven apparatus and method



4 Sheetsf-Sheet 1 Jan. 9,-1951 Filed may a, ,1944

INVENTOR. www HCKEEEN llllllllnll J. VAN ACKEREN COKE OVEN APPARATUS AND METHOD 4 Shevets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR,

u bsp VHN @examen his TTORNEK Si@ @HHS Edd@ Swm E myvmf@ S m. Wu. z s m @im m m mi@ mi@ s m mi@ m s @im mim: mi@ mi@ i mwwwdwfm Filed May 8. 1944 Jan. 9 1951 J. VAN AcKl-:REN

COKE OVEN APPARATUS METHOD 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed May 8, 1944 H 7" TOPNE Y J. VAN ACKEREN COKE OVEN APPARATUS AND METHOD Jan. 9, 1951 Filed May 8, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR Jos-PH BY y@ van? #carene/v.

"w 4 rromvsx Patented Jan. 9, 1951 2,537,197 COKE OVEN PPARTUS AND METHOD Joseph van Ackeren, Pittsburgh, Pa., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Koppers Company,

Inc.,

a corporation of Delaware Application May 8, 1944,wSerial No. 534,545

18 Claims.

The present invention relates to underjet coke ovens and more especially to underjet coke-oven batteries having basements therebeneath including passageways accessible to the operators wherefrom there can be made regulatory adjustments in the distribution systems for the gaseous media flowed into and from the coke-ovens heating ilues, and the like; the invention is particularly concerned with coke-oven batteries of lower temperatures than would otherwise obtain and thereby providing more comfortable working conditions for the battery operators.

A further object of the present improvement is the provision of means wherebythe abovestated object can be realized while at the same time maintaining a substantially uniform temperature, along the entire lengths of those aforesaid combustion-media distribution pipes, and at their associated regulatory means for apportioning said media to the individual heating flues of said coke-oven batteries.

A further object of invention is the provision of objects can be realized without limiting the eiiicacy of the battery-stack to carry batterycombustion-products into the outside atmosphere and whereby' the atmosphere of corresponding portions of the battery basementl can be maintained at a substantially uniform static pressure more especially in those instances where features of the invention are employed in underjet batteries designed to take their combustion air from their basement passageways.

A further object of invention is to furnish such improvements lin combustion-media and combustion-products flow-boxes for the regenerators as especially adapt them for the present purpose and the realization-of the above-stated objects.

The invention has for further objects such other improvements and such other operative advantages or results as may be found to obtain in the processes or apparatus hereinafter described or claimed.

The above-stated objects of inventionn are realized according to the present improvement improvements whereby the above-statedby supplying underjet coke-oven batteries with a plurality of air-inlet openings that are disposed longitudinally of the basement thereof and communicably connect the same with a source of outside air and, transversely of said battery- Vbasement from said air-inlet openings, there is also disposed a plurality of air-voiding openings that also lead from said basement to the atmosphere, the said air-inlet and air-voiding openings being preferably located at a battery-level beneath the level of those combustion-media distribution pipes for supplying fuel-gas to the individual heating walls in those installations where the basement atmosphere is free to circulate over such pipes.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present improvement, the aforesaid air-inlet openings communicate with a source or reservoir of air that is deliverable to said openings at slightly above atmospheric pressure. The airvoiding openings of the coke-oven battery-basement in that embodiment of the invention shown in detail in the accompanying drawings are communicably connected with the outside atmosphere by means including an air-space that has as one surface the masonry of the battery-face itself and as its opposite surface a barrier-wall that is spaced from said battery-faceand extends longitudinally thereof in the usual operating alleyway of the battery and encloses both the regenerator flow-boxes and the lower portions of the battery buckstays, the top of said air-space being preferably formed by a plurality of short horizontally-extending walls that are located each beneath the level of a coking-chamber sole with their one side in contact with the -battery-face and their opposite side integral with the aforementioned barrier-wall and their ends terminating at the edges of the ilanges of adjacent buckstays, thereby providing at the upper part of that said enclosed air-space and adjacent the opposite sides of the web of each I-shaped buckstay a pair of openings therefor to the atmosphere. According to the invention, these-formed openings of each said pair thereof are each individually furnished with a small stack-like duct that extends to the upper part of one side of a buckstay and is formed'by spotwelding a metallic strip to adjacent edges ofthe buckstay flanges. By means of such arrangement, air being displaced from the battery-basementlows iirstthrough the air-voiding openings thatare located beneath the rich fuel-gas disjtribution pipes, thence over the hot regenerator flow-boxes thereby increasing its buoyancy and its tendency'to rise and pass into the atmosphere through the small stack-like ducts that are formed in part by a portion of the buckstays.

The invention also provides novel regenerator flow-boxes that are especially suitable for use for the present purpose; their valve means for flowing both combustion-air and combustionproducts respectively into and from the regenerator sole-channels are located below the batterysupporting mat and are actuable entirely from the battery-basement thereby making it practical completely to isolate such flow-boxes from the alleyways in accordance with one of the features of the present improvement as will be more clearly understood by reference to the accompanying drawings and the following description of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification and showing for purposes of exemplifloation a preferred apparatus and method inwhich the invention may be embodiedand practiced but without limiting the claimed invention specifically to such illustrative instance or instances:

Fig. 1 is a composite vertical section taken crosswise of an underjet coke-oven battery of the well-known Becker type provided with features of improvement for displacing the air of its basement passageways in accordance with principles of the present invention, the section A-A being through a coking chamber whereas the section B-B is taken through a heating wall thereadiacent, and both said sections being taken through one of the narrow air-regenerators 25 (Fig. that is beneath both the coking chamber and the-heating wall of said sections;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along the line II-II of the battery of Fig. l, with parts broken away;

Fig. 3 is an elevational view partially in section taken on line III- III of Fig. 4;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged view similar to that shown in Fig. 3 but with the lean fuel-gas main removed and showing the disposition of a series of the novel regenerator flow-boxes used for the present purpose;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged vertical section taken through an air-inlet of an improved regenerator flow-box of invention; and

Fig. 7 is an enlarged plan view showing details of the valve-actuating mechanism for the regenerator flow-boxes.

The same characters of reference designate the same parts in each of the views of the drawings.

The underjet coke-oven battery illustrated in the drawings comprises the well-known underj et type of Becker coke oven and embodies many of its characterizing featureswhich do not require particularly detailed description for the present purpose because the advantages of the present improvement are realizable in combination with underjet coke-oven batteries of a variety of constructional features and are not dependent solely upon any special characterizing features of oven design. The coking chambers I0 of the illustrated battery alternate longitudinally of the latter with heating walls I I therefor, said heating walls being supplied with vertically-disposed heating flues I2 that are communicably connected groupwise with corresponding heating flues in an adjacent heating wall by means of cross-over duct I3 that extends over the intermediate coking chamber in the well-known manner. The opposite ends of coking chamber I0 are each sealed by a remv able door I4 and the masonry of each heating wall II is supported in its designed location by a buckstay I5 at each end thereof, each such buckstay being formed of a rugged I-beam that is affixed at its lower end to those metallic beams I6 that support the concrete of the usual batterysupporting mat I1. The upper end of each buckstay I5. is tied to the upper end of a similar buckstay at the opposite end of each heating wall by a bolted tie-rod I8 that extends across the top of the battery.

Beneath the coking chambers and their adjacent ilued heating walls are the coke-oven regenerators and their associated sole-channels, each heating flue of a. heating wall being communicably connected individually at its lower part by short duct means with the upper part of a wide regenerator I9 (Fig. 5) that is communicably connectable by means of one or a pair of sole-channels 20 with a regenerator flow-box 2l (Fig. 5) of invention whereby the said regenerator I9 can be optionally supplied intermittently with either combustion-air from the batterybasement 22 or, in combination-oven operation, with lean fuel-gas, such as blast-furnace or producer gas, drawn from lean-gas main 23 that is supported on top of waste-heat duct 2l. The said regenerator flow-boxes '2| are also arranged in alternation to admit a combustion-medium,

aforesaid, into a regenerator I9 or to ilow its combustion-products into the waste-heat duct 24 whence they pass to the usual stack means for the battery (not shown). Each heating flue of a said heating wall is also communicably connected at its lower part by short duct means with the upper part of a narrow regenerator 25 (Fig. 5), that is co-extensive with a said wide regenerator I9, and is also supplied with its individual solechannel 20 the outer end of which communicates with a regenerator flow-box 26 (Fig. 5) of invention that is disposed in alternation to admit combustion-air from the battery-basement into a said regenerator 25 and to flow combustion-products into said waste-heat duct.

At such times as the illustrated battery is operated as a coke-oven and the heating ues are heated with non-regeneratively-preheated rich fuel gas, such gas is introduced into the lower ends of the heating flues in individually apportioned amounts through underjet ducts 21 that are individual to each heating flue and are disposed in those regenerator division walls 28 that are each directly beneath a heating wall I I. The said rich heating gas is supplied to the heating ilues from the primary fuel-gas main 29 that communicates by a valve means 30 with each wallheader pipe 3| that extends crosswise of the illustrated battery in substantial parallelism with its heating wall thereabove, each said pipe 3I communicably connected with all the heating flues of its corresponding heating wall by means of appropriate piping-connections 32 that join at their upper ends with the lower ends of the masonry ducts 21. In each of said piping-connections is disposed a replaceable gas-flow regulator means (not shown) whereby the quantity of rich fuelgas distributed to an individual heating iiue can be apportioned in accordance with its position in its heating wall.

The masonry of the illustrated battery is supported as aforementioned on a concrete mat I1 which in turn is directly supported by a multiplicity of longitudinally-extending I-beams I6 and heavier transversely extending I-beams I8.

the latter each resting on the tops of several i aligned piers 34 vwhereby the whole batterystructure is supported suiliciently above the passageways of the battery-basement 22 to permit convenient access of all parts thereof to the operators. y

The aforementioned lean-gas main 2l, wasteheat duct 24, and regenerator flow-boxes 2|, 26, for the whole battery are located at only one side thereof at a level lower than the platform 35 of the pusher-side bench which with its outer supporting-piers vforms the usual alleyway 36 that extends along the face of` a coke-oven battery. Combustion-media and their combustion-products are flowed, during the batterys heating, into and from the regenerators at the pusher-side of the battery only and thus the coke-side alleyway 36 for the battery has no regenerator dow-boxes. 'Ihe alieyways 36,' 38, are each entirely enclosed by end walls and a side-wall, the latter having disposed therealong at spaced intervals louvered ports 31 for regulating access of outside air to said alleyways. The said alleyways are interconnected at both ends by similar enclosed crosswise alleyways that extend transversely of the battery beyond the pinion walls 39 supporting the batterymasonry at its opposite ends, thereby providing an enclosed alleyway that is continuous around the entire battery. Doors at opposite ends of the pusher-side alleyway 36 give the operators access thereto from outside the battery.

At the battery-basement level the battery pinion walls 39 are penetrated by passageways 40, which by means of air-tight doors 4| at either end thereof, serve as air-locks, thereby enabling operators to enter the basement passageways at their level without substantial loss or ingress of air therethrough.

The regenerator flow-boxes 2|, '26, are structurally supported in the masonry and concrete of the upper part of the walls of waste-heat duct 24. They have an essentially L-shaped prole, the vertically-disposed leg being bifurcated at its lower end into branches 42, 43, the former of which communicates with said waste-heat duct and has pivotally mounted in its walls damper valve 44 that is arranged for manual rotation from the battery-basement by crank-handle 45 to adjust the available free-way of said branch 42 whereas the ow-box branch 43 extends into the space of the battery-basement and is arranged to receive battery-heating combustion-air from said' basement. The horizontally disposed leg of said flow-boxes communicates with a regenerator sole-channel 2li;vr The aforesaid' branches 42, 43, of the flow-boxes are each provided at the same level below. the battery mat with a valve, respectively y46, 41, the former controlling the passageway of that branch leading to the wasteheat duct and the latter similarly controlling the opening whereby branch 43 receives combustionair from the battery-basement. The said valves 46, 41, are mounted on separate shafts 48, 48a, and th'ese shafts areso interconnected by a leversystem that their associated valves are rotatable simultaneously in alternation into opened and closed position in respect of their respective passageways 42, 43, by means `of the usual reversing machine for thek battery (not shown) operating through lever 49 and its associated reversing rod 49h.

Those regenerator flow-boxes 2|, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, that are associated with the large regeneratorsA I9 are provided with means for flowing either lean sas or combustion air there into. )For the former purposesf-they are each communicably connected `with a pipe -56 through which lean` gas frommain 23 therefore can be flowed into said regenerators. The lean-gas valve in pipe 5l can be moved into either opened or closed position by appropriate movement of cable 5| of the` gas-now reversing machine for the battery operating through valve-handle 52. By means of a clutch connection that is auxiliary to the lever-system for actuating valves 46, 41, of the now-boxes 2|, a shaft 43a thereof is easily disconnectible from actuation by said lever-system, so that when lean gas instead of combustion. air is introduced into their regenerators, air valves 41 are assured of being in sealed position in the battery-basement and they can lbe locked in this sealed position by a thumb-screw 49a that is disposed upon rotation to engage the body of a closed valve and hold it against its valve seat.

Thumb-screw 49a is rotatably supported `in one of the finger-bars 50a that serve to adjust the effective free-way of the air-inlet to said flowboxes.

According to that embodiment of the instant improvement shown in drawings, the reservoir for delivering air to the hereinbefore discussed air-inlet openings to the battery-basement 22. is formed as a large conduit or channel 53, that extends along the full length of the coke-side of the battery and occupies a major portion of the space directly beneath the coke-side alleyway 38 and is formed by spaced outer and inner concrete walls, respectively v51|, 55, the latter said wall also functioning as one of the side-walls of the enclosed battery-basement. A short wall 56 seals one end of the conduit 53 and at its opposite end, as clearly shown by reference to Fig. 2, said conduit increases somewhat in width and at its point of entry into the enlarged enclosure 51 its axis bends Aslightly toward the battery structure. A similar but shorter conduit 58 extends along the adjacent pinion-wall 39 of the battery and communicates with said enlarged enclosure 51 at approximately a right angle to the aforesaid conduit 53, both said conduits 53, 58, and the enclosure 51 being at substantially the same horizontal level. At its end adjacent alleyway 36 at the pusher-side of the battery, short conduit 58 is communicably connectible, by means of a louvered opening 59 in its end wall 66, with the space of alleyway 36 thereabove, for purposes hereinafter more fully described.

Louvered openings 6|, 62, in the outside walls of enlarged enclosure 51 make it possible to draw -air int-o said enclosure from the` outside atmosphere by power means in the form of fan 63 that is driven by electric motor 64 operating through driving-belt 65, said fan being disposed at the open end of conduit 53 adjacent the point where its'wall expands into enclosure 51. The illustrated fan is of the so-called airplane-propeller type although any other `type of air-compressor means adapted `to deliver` air from the atmosphere into conduit 53 is of utility as the power lmeans for the present purpose. In the drawing,

motor 64 and fan 63 are disposed to draw air from the atmosphere through openings 6| or 62 and to deliver the same into conduit 53 at above atmospheric pressure. The airplane-propeller type of fan is preferred as the power means because of the large free-space between its blades which makes it possible without removing it from its operating position to operate by natural draft maaier i the present improved system for displacing air" from the basement of a coke-oven battery.

'Below the level of fuel-gas distribution pipes 3| and at spaced intervals along wall 55 of conduit 53, basement-passageways 22 of the battery communicate with said conduit by means of airinlet openings 65 that are provided each with louvers 61 whereby the eifectlve free space of said openings is optionally regulable.' Thus, by means of these air-inlet openings air in excess of atmospheric pressure in conduit 53 can be equally distributed at points lengthwise of the battery-basement and be caused to ilow transversely thereof in a plurality of streams of substantially equal pressure and velocity.

In order that air introduced into the batterybasement through said openings 66 will not shortcircuit: the basement and escape into, for example alleyway 38 thereabove through the interspace between the ends of I-beam 33 and the upper part of conduit-wall 55, flashing plates 68 are furnished the entire length of the coke-side battery face; they are attached at their upper edges to one of the horizontally-extending, battery-supporting I-beams I6 and at their lower edges are caulked into a groove formed into the top of concrete wall 55 substantially as shown in Fig. 1. thereby sealing the basement passageways 22 from alleyway 38. The ends of the basement are sealed against leakage and short-circuiting by contact of the pinion walls with the concrete of mat I1.

At the pusher-side face of the battery, a portion of the usual space of the alleyway is separated therefrom by a barrier wall 69 that extends the full length of the battery and forms between the remaining alleyway space and the masonry of the battery-face an interspace 10 that contains the lower portion of the buckstays and the regenerator flow-boxes 2l, 26, (with the exception of those portions of the former flow-boxes for regulating the flow of lean gas to the regenerators). The barrier wall 69 may be formed of any structurally appropriate non-flammable material such' as Transite board. The sides and ends of said interspace 'I0 are sealed fromthe atmosphere whereas the bottom is open to the batterybasement, so that air can flow freely from the latter into the former. The lower edge of said barrier-wall rests in air-tight contact with the upper surface of that massive concrete forming the top of waste-heat duct 2l, and its upper vertically-extendlng section is supported adjacent the outer ilanges of the buckstays I5, by the beams that structurally support the pusher-side bench.

(In Fig. l. this upper section of said barrier wall is shown spaced a short distancefrom the buckstays; in the fully expanded battery, however, the barrier wall will be in contact with the buckstay flanges.) An upper extension of barrier-wall 69, above the paved surface of pusher-side bench 1I. is formed by a continuous strip of Transite plates 12 that extend the full length of the battery and are supported by the outer buckstay flanges and at their upper edges are in contact with the vertical portions of those apron-plates 13 that extend outwardly and downwardly from the ovensoles. A small replaceable cover-plate 14 covers an opening in a plate 12 and gives access to a regenerator inspection hole 15.

The top of said interspace 10 is formed by horizontally disposed strips 15, of Transite, one such strip being arranged a short distance beneath each said apron-plate along the pusher-side of the battery. These strips 10 each cover an opening limited by the battery-masonry, a plate 12, and the edges of adJacent flanges of adjacent buckstays. L irons 11 that arev spot-welded to the flangeedges of the buckstays and their ends terminate at the edges of said buckstay ilanges leaving at either end thereof a relatively small opening 1l (Fig. 3) that forms the inlet end of a buckstaystack 19 which is itself formed by spot-welding a metal-plate l0 to those edges of buckstayflanges at the same bukstay-side. The metal plates preferably extend vertically along a buckstay I5 to a point above the top of a coklngchamber mouth. By means of the described arrangement, currents of air flowing upwardly through interspace 10 around the regenerator flow-boxes therein and along the masonry of the regenerator faces eventually come into contact with strips 16 of Transite whereby they are defiected into buckstay-stacks 13 along which they travel upwardly until their discharge into the outside atmosphere at the tops 3l of said buckstay-stacks.

The pavement 32 of alleyway 33 forms the ceiling of conduit 53 and is provided therealong with circular openings 33 that are furnished with removable plate covers 34 which can be replaced, for purposes hereinafter described, with similar covers formed of iron grills.

In consequence of the high temperatures carried in the masonry of coke ovens, heat penetrates through the battery-mat into the basement passageways of underjet coke ovens. and oppressively high temperatures for the operators obtain therein unless the heated air is displacedv by cooler air at a suiiciently rapid rate to remove the heat and maintain comfortable working temperatures therein. It is not adequate. however, merely to displace the heated' basement atmosphere by withdrawing it into the regenerators and employing it for combustion` purposes in the battery because the rate of air withdrawal is limited to combustion requirements which are insumcient to alleviate the condition and such method must be augmented by other means. If such augmentation is provided by introducing larger quantities of cooler air into the basement-passageways, through a single opening, either by means of an exhaueter-fan or a blower, disadvantageous results arise, more especially in those coke-oven batteries wherein the inilowing air is free to circulate around the fuel-gas distribution headers 3l, because those of said pipes that are adjacent to, or those portionsthereof that are directly in, the flow-path of the total quantity of the inflowing cooler air can be unduly chilled at points adjacent the air-inlet opening. In result, the fuel gases distributed by such pipes, or

portions thereof, are cooled below the condensation points of some of their'more easily condensible consttuents. These condensible constituents then tend to be deposited in the small orifices of those gas-flow regulator means for apportioning fuel gas from said pipes 3I into underjet ducts 21 for delivery to the individual heating nues and thus to alter their calibrations, thereby disturbing any otherwise obtainable uniformity of heating along the heating walls and necessitating their continuous policing. In addition, air flowing into and out of the battery basement, through a single inlet or outlet, sets up a swirling and eddying of the basement air into indeterminate and continuously changing flow-paths and, in consequence, air'can be relatively dormant in some portions of the battery-basement and in They are supported by sections of` 9 others be unnecessarily agitated. In those battery structures that are equipped to withdraw their combustion-air from the battery-basements the thus engendered continuous fluctuation of the static pressure of the basement-atmosphere be-l fore the regenerator flow-box inlets disturbs continuous uniformity of flow of combustion-air to the heating flues and is prejudicial to continued uniformity of their heating. Furthermore, displacing the basement air by means of a suctionfan tends to maintain in said basement a pressure of air somewhat less than atmospheric, thereby reducing the efficacy of the height of an existing stack to discharge combustion-products into the atmosphere. In the preferred embodiment of the present improvement, the fan of the power means for introducing the displacing air into basements of underjet batteries is thus disposed to deliver the same at pressures in excess of atmospheric so as to increase the effectiveness of the stack. In this connection therev should be mentioned the feasibility of employing with the power means, as in combination with the motor for driving said fan, actuating means that are responsive to iiuctuations in the pressure of the outside atmosphere to cause the fan continuously to deliver into the battery-,basement such variable quantities of air as will maintain, regardless of the pressure or the humidity of the outside atmosphere, those basement air-pressures i required continuously to cause a uniform weight of air, or oxygen, to flow into the`,regenerators during a given time interval, thereby improving continued uniformity of heating of the battery from day to day.

Invthe operation of the hereinabove described coke-oven battery having its basement-passageways substantially sealed from direct communication with either the outside atmosphere or with the alleyways 36, 38, louvers 6|, 62, in the enlarged enclosure 51 are opened suiliciently to permit rotating fan 63 of the power means to draw,

into said enclosure from the outside atmosphere and then to deliver into air-conduit 53 at above atmospheric pressure, atmospheric air at a rate Vpreferably about three times the rate at which.

air is required for purposes of combustion in the heating-fines of the battery. Flowing along said conduit 53, the so-delivered air is allocated at spaced intervals into basement-passageways 22 through adjustable louvers 61 of the air-inlet openings 66 of said conduit 53, and the so-allocated air flows through the said basement-passageways toward the opposite battery side in sideby-sideqstreams of substantially equal velocity and corresponding pressures by appropriate adjustment of the louvers in air-inlet openings 66,

thereby displacing at a substantially uniform rate in all parts thereof the battery-heated air of the basement-passageways by cooler outside air. By reason of the location of openings 66 in respect of fuel-gas pipes 3|,7 as well as also the downwardly directed louvers 61, the inflowing cooler air with its greater density tends to sink toward the iioor of the basement-passageways and flow therealong, as shown by the arrows, without coming into substantial contact with or greatly cooling fuel-gas distribution pipes 3i. Thus, the currents of displacing and cooling inlet-air tend, by reason of the invention to follow `flow-paths along the lower-level of the battery-basement where they are needed for the physical comfort of the operators. In consequence of,y diffusion and continuing radiation from the battery mat however,

the inflowing air increases somewhat in tempel" l0 ature as it progresses erosswise of the battery and tends to rise toward the air-voiding openings at the opposite battery side, a portion of it returnlng along the distribution-pipes 3| in countercurrent flow to the cooler air nearer the iioor of the basement-passageways before reioining and mingling with the currents of iniiowing air, as shown diagrammaticallyl by the arrows of Fig. 1. Thus, in eiIect, the apparatus of invention provides means whereby displacing and cooling air-strata of different temperatures can, from a single source, be flowed across the basements of underjet batteries, the stratum of lowest temperature being adjacent the basement iioor where it is beneficial for the operating personnel whereas the warmest stratum circulates along and around fuel-gas pipesv 3| avoiding condensation of constituents of the fuel gas distributed by said pipes and at the same time maintaining them at relatively uniform temperature from end to end along the entire battery-basement. Having traversed the battery-basement, the warmed displacing air rises and flows into the air-voiding openings 85 adjacent the air-inlet valves 41 to the regenerator flow-boxes where about one-third of said circulated air is removed and passed into the regenerator flow-boxes and used for combustion purposes in heating the battery. The remaining two-thirds of the circulated air flows around the hot regenerator flow-boxes that are carrying hot combustion-products to waste-heat duct 24 and J is thereby warmed and its buoyancy increased,

thus increasing its tendency to rise through airspace 10 and thence into the divers buckstay stacks 19 whereby they are discharged into the atmosphere at a point above the tops of the cokeoven doors.

During the hottest weather, it is preferable to employ outside air exclusively as the source of air for the described purpose. However, in mild or cold weather, it is expedient and desirable t'o employ either a mixture of outside air with air that has been iirst somewhat warmed in the alleyways, or to employ air derived solely fromsaid alleyways. Any preferred proportion .of the air introduced into conduit 53 can be derived from these two sources by appropriate adjustment of the effective free space between louvers 6|, B2, whereby enlarged enclosure 51 communicates with the outside atmosphere, and also of the louvers 59, 86, whereby respectively the pusher-side and coke-side alleyways are communicably connectible with that shorter conduit 58 that itself ports into enclosure 51 upstream of fan 63.

By means of the described apparatus of invention, beneficial results in battery-basement cooling can also be enjoyed without employment of a fan or other air compressor power means. For example, the stack or thermo-syphon eiect establishable in the system, by heating the air in airspace 10 by radiation and convection from the hot regenerator now-boxes, is employable alone to induce air to flow either from the atmosphere, or from alleyway 38 by replacing solid covers 84 of circular openings' 83 with grille-covers, into conduit 53 and be distributed through the batterybasement without augmentation by power-driven means. y

Manifestly in `this last-described method oi'y operation the above-discussed benefits obtainable by employing air in excess of atmospheric pressure are not realizable. Y

The invention as hereinabove set forth-is em- 76 bQdedill. particular form and manner but may be sageways, said means comprising: a plurality of air-inlet openings disposed lengthwise of said basement; spaced from said air-inlet openings transversely of said basement passageways a plurality of air-voiding means communicably connectingsaid passageways with the outside atmosphere and comprising duct means the upper portion of which communicates with the outside atmosphere and the lower portion of which communicates with an air-space that itself communicates with said accessible basement passageways and is intermediate a regenerator face-wall and an alleyway of said battery, said air-space including a combustion-media flow-box arranged for flowing hot combustion-products from cokeoven heating nues to the battery stack-due whereby to heat the air in said air-space and enl2 the improvement comprising, heating by radiation and convection of heat from hot combustionproducts being conveyed through a now-box from the flue-system of said battery to a stack-flue, a relatively restricted column of air that is at the battery face and is continuous both with the outside atmosphere and with atmosphere lof said battery basement, thereby to increase the buoyancy of said air colmnn and facilitate the flowing hance the stack-effect of said air issuing from said air-avoiding means.

2. In an underjet coke-oven battery as claimed in claim 1, in combination, a valved now-box for owing combustion-media and aso combustionproducts respectively into and from the regenerator-face end of a regenerator sole-channel, the valve means for controlling the flows of combustion-air and combustion-products respectively into and from said sole-channel being located below the battery-supporting mat with the air-intake being arranged to take combustion-air for the battery-underriug from accessible passageways of the battery-basement.

3. In an underjet coke-oven battery as claimed in claim 2, in combination, a valved flow-box for owing combustion-media and also combustionproducts respectively into and from the regenerator-face end of a. regenerator sole-channel, the valve means for controlling the hows of combustion-air and combustion-products respectively into and from said sole-channel being located below the battery-supporting mat and being arranged for their opening and closing in alternation by actuating means disposed in accessible passageways of the battery-basement.

4. In an underjet coke-oven battery having flow-boxes for flowing hot combustion-products from the outer ends of the regenerator sole-chan-l nels into a stack-nue for said battery, said flowboxes protruding outwardly from the batteryface into the normal space of an alleyway extending therealong, a barrier wall extending along said battery-face and forming between the latter and said aileyway a restrictedA air-space that at its upper part is in communication with the outside atmosphere and at its lower part is in communication with the atmosphere of the battery-basement and includes the aforesaid flowboxes, so that a flow of air passing through the so-formed air-space from the battery-basement to the outside atmosphere can be heated by the hot said flow-boxes and heat radiated from the regenerator faces to increase its stackeffect and facilitate its displacement from the battery-basement.

5. In a method of displacing the atmosphere of accessible passageways in the basement of an underjet coke-oven battery and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways,

of outside air into said battery-basement.

6. In a method as claimed in claim 5, directing the column of air of increased buoyancy in a flow-path confined adjacent to a buckstay between the ends of coking chambers of the battery upwardly to an upper portion of the battery above the tops of the coking chambers before discharging such air into the outside atmosphere.

7. In an underjet coke-oven battery having a basement therebeneath providing accessible operating passageways and also having within the atmosphere of the upper portion of said passageways fuel-gas distribution pipes for delivering heating gas to the heating walls of said battery,

improved means for displacing the atmosphere of said battery-basement passageways and thereby regulating the temperature thereof while also maintaining the temperature of said fuel-gas distributon pipes substantially uniform along their entire lengths, said means comprising, in combination: disposed longitudinally of said battery basement, a plurality of air-inlet openings communicably connecting the atmosphere and said basement; transversely of said battery basement from said air-inlet openings, a plurality of airvoiding openings also communicably connecting the atmosphere with that of said basement, and power means adapted to circulate air between the air inlet and the air-voiding openings of the battery basement at a rate in excess of that rate at which air is removable from saidl basement by combustion requirements for the battery-heating.

8. A process for operating an underfired coke oven battery having a basement space disposed beneath the regenerators and running substantially the f-ull length of the battery and extending throughout substantially the full width of the battery, which process comprises: introducing combustion air at spaced points along the length of the battery into the basement space from a single column of air owing lengthwise of, but solely on one side of the battery, and under lsuperatmospheric pressure, in an amount subtroducing so preheated air into the regenerators and thence into the ilues where it supports combustion of the gas fed to said ues and venting t0 the atmosphere any air in excess of combustion requirements, and flowing the resultant products of combustion through the regenerators and then through stack means for the entire battery comprising a single waste heat flue solely on the opposite side of the battery from that at which the air is introduced into the basement space.

9. In an 'underfired coke oven battery, the combination with a coke oven structure having coking chambers, heating fiues for heating the same and regenerators communicating with said 13 heating nues, of a sub-structure supporting said oven structure and forming a basement space underlying substantially the ventire coke oven structure, a single chimney fiue disposed along the full length of the battery along one side thereof and communicating with the regenerators through flow boxes therefor, and air duct disposed the full length of the battery along the opposite side wall thereof contiguous to the basemerit space and separated from the basement space by a wall, the said wall having openings connecting the air duct with the basement space, connections between said basement space and the regenerators on the side of the battery at which the said single chimney ue is located whereby air introduced through said openings passes completely across the basement space through said connections and flows into the regenerators, and air-voiding means communicably connecting said basement space directly with the outside atmosphere and comprising duct means the upper portion of which communicates with the outside atmosphere and the lower portion of which communicates with an air-space that itself communicates with said basement space and is intermediate a regenerator face-wall and an alleyway of said battery on the side of the battery at which the single chimney flue is located, said air-space including the aforesaid flow-box connections through which the single chimney flue communicates with the regenerators for flow of hot combustion-products of the coke-oven heating iiues from the regenerators to the single chimney flue whereby to heat the air in said airspace and enhance the stack-effect of said air issuing from said air-voiding means.

Y l0. A process for operating an underilred coke oven battery having a basement space disposed beneath the regenerators running substantially the full length of the battery and extending throughoutsubstantially the full width of the battery, which process comprises introducing controlled volumes of outside air at spaced points along the length of the battery into the basement space through one side wall of the battery thereby introducing substantially all of the air required to support combustion of the gas burned in the heating walls of said battery and flowing the air thus introduced across the full width of the basement space thereby preheating the air and cooling the basement space, introducing the preheated air into the regenerators and thence into the ues where it supports combustion of the gas fed to said flues and owing the resultant products of combustion through the regenerators and then through a waste heat fille on the opposite side of the battery from that at which the air is introduced into the basement space, and heating by radiation and convection of heat from hot combustion-products being conveyed from the regenerators'of said battery to the waste heat flue, a relatively restricted column of air that is at the battery face on the side of the battery at which the yproducts ofcombustion flow off through the waste heatue and that is continuous both with the outside atmosphere and with atmosphere of said battery basement, thereby to increase the buoyancy of said air vcolumn and facilitate the aforesaid introduction and flow of outside air into and across said battery basement.

1l. In an underflred coke oven battery, the combination with a coke oven structure having alternate coking chambers and'heating walls dis'- posed in side by side relation, each heating wall having heating ues for heating the coking chambers, and regenerators communicating with said heating iiues, of a substructure supporting said oven structure and forming a basement space underlying substantially the entire coke oven structure, a single chimney iiue disposed along the full length of the battery along one side thereof and communicating with the regenerators through flow-box connections therefor,

an air channel disposed the full length of the' battery along the opposite side wall thereof contiguous to the basement space and separated from the basement space by a wall, the said wall having a plurality of spaced openings along the length thereof connecting the air channel with the basement space, the top and outer side wall of said air channel throughout substantially the full length thereof bein-g imperforate, said air channel having an air inlet in at least one end thereof, connections between said basement space and the regenerators on the side of the battery at which the said single chimney ue is located whereby air introduced through said openings passes completely across the basement space and flows though said connections into the regenerators, an alleyway extending along the side of the battery above the single chimney flue, a barrier wall extending along the battery-face on the chimney side and forming between the latter and said alleyway above the single chimney ue a restricted air-space that at its upper part is in communication with the outside atmosphere and at its lower part is in communication with the atmosphere of the batteryfbasement and includes the aforesaid now box connections through which the single chimney flue communicates with the regenerators, so that `a flow of air passing through the so-formed air-space from the battery-basement to the outside atmosphere can be heated by the hot said ow-box connections and heat radiated from the regenerator faces, to increase its stack-effect and facilitate displacement of air from the battery-basement.

l2. In a regenerative underiet coke-oven battery, a basementv therebeneath providing accessible operating passageways, means for displacing the atmosphere thereof and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said means comprising: a conduit extending longitudinally of the battery and communicably connected with said basement passageways by a plurality of openings disposed at spaced points `lengthwise of said conduit: spaced from said conduit transversely of said basement passageways a plurality of air-outlet means disposed at spaced points longitudinally of the battery basement and communicably connecting said passageways with the outside atmosphere for voiding air from the basement passageways independently of the combustion-media passageways of said cokeoven battery; and air-compressor means disposed for delivering Ventilating air in excess of that to support combustion into said conduit at a pressure above atmospheric pressure.

13. In a regenerative underjet coke-oven battery, a basement therebeneath providing accessible. operating passageways, means for displacing the atmosphere thereof and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said means comprising: a conduit extending longitudinally of the battery and communicably connected with said basement passageways by a plurality of openings disposed at spaced points lengthwise of said conduit; spaced from said conduit transversely of said basement passageways a plurality of regenerator air inlets disposed at spaced points longitudinally of the battery basement for passing air from the basement passageways to the regenerators of the combastion media passageways and a plurality of air-outlet means disposed at spaced points longitudinally of the battery and communicably connecting the basement passageways with the outside atmosphere for voiding air from the basement independently of the combustion-media passageways of said coke-oven battery; and aircompressor means disposed for delivering ventilatin-g air in excess of that to support combustion into said conduit at a pressure above atmospheric pressure.

14. In a regenerative horizontal underjet cokeoven battery, a basement therebeneath providing accessible operating passageways. means foi` displacing the atmosphere thereof and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said means comprising: a conduit extending longitudinally of the battery and that is communicably connected with said basement passageways by a plurality of openings disposed at spaced points lengthwise of said conduit; spaced from said conduit transversely of said basement passageways' and disposed at spaced points longitudinally of the vbattery basement a plurality of air-outlet means communicably connccting said passageways with the outside atmosphere, said air-outlet means comprising ducts formed adjacent the buckstays of the coke-oven battery and extending upwardly therealong to discharge air at a level above the level of the tops of the coking chambers, an air chamber intermediate an alleyway and a regenerator face wall on the side of the battery at which the ducts are formed adjacent said buckstays, for conning Ventilating air from flow both outwardly into the alleyway, and upwardly in the space between adiacent buckstays at a level below the bottoms of the horizontal coking chambers, said air chamber communicating with said buckstay ducts and with said basement passageways, and air-compressor means disposed for delivering air in excess o f that to support combustion into said conduit at a pressure above atmospheric pressure.

15. In a regenerative horizontal underjet cokeoven battery having a basement therebeneath providing accessible operating passageways, improved means for displacing the atmosphere thereof and thereby regulating the temperatures of said basement passageways, said means comprising: a conduit extending longitudinally of the battery along one side thereof and that is communicably connected with said basement passageways lengthwise of said conduit; a plurality of Ventilating air outlet-means disposed longitudinally of the battery along the opposite side thereof and communicably connecting said basement with the outside atmosphere, said ventilating air outlet means comprising a Ventilating air oil-flow chamber intermediate an alleyway and a regenerator face wall of said opposite side of the battery and in communicationvat said opposite side ofthe battery with said battery basement passageways, for confining the o-ilow of ventilating air from flow both outwardly into the alleyway, and upwardly in the space between adjacent buckstays at a level below the bottoms of the ends of the horizontal coking chambers, and duct means for the discharge of air from the air oiT-ow chamber to the outside atmosphere at a region beyond the ends of the horizontal coking chambers.

16. In an underjet horizontal coke-oven battery, a basement therebeneath providing accessible operating passageways. means for displacing the atmosphere thereof and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said means comprising: a plurality of individually regulable air inlet-means disposed at intervals lengthwise along the battery solely on one side only thereof and communicably connected with said basement passageways for lntroducing air thereto under positive pressure; spaced from said air inlet means transversely of said battery a plurality of air-outlet means communicably connecting said passageways with the outside atmosphere, said air-outlet means Y being disposed solely along the side of the battery opposite that at which the regulable air inlets are disposed, and comprising ducts formed adjacent the buckstays of the coke-oven battery and adapted to conilne the oil-flow of air to flow upwardly therealong from a level below the bottoms of the doors at the horizontal ends o1' the coking chamber to a region of discharge therefrom above the tops of said chamber-doors; and air-compressor means disposed for delivering air into said air inlet means at a pressure above atmospheric pressure.

17. An improved method of displacing the atmosphere of accessible passageways in the basement of a regenerative underjet coke-oven battery and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said method comprising, introducing into the battery-basement air in excess of the total volume required for underiiring the -battery in the form of a plurality of flows of air at greater than atmospheric pressure at spaced intervals lengthwise of the battery, directing said air-iiows through the basement transversely of said battery,v voiding the total volume of air required for underfiring from the basement so as to effect the underflrlng of the battery structure therewith, and voiding air in excess of the total quantity required for underring the battery-structure through a plurality of air-outlets at spaced intervals lengthwise along a battery-face opposite the points of introduction of said ilows of air into the basement and which outlets by-pass the underilring system and lead from said basement directly to the atmosphere.

18. An improved method of displacing the atmosphere of accessible passageways in the basement of a regenerative underjet coke-oven battery and thereby regulating the temperature of said basement passageways, said method comprising, introducing a plurality of ows of air at greater than atmospheric pressure into the battery basement at spaced intervals lengthwise of the battery, the volume of air of said flows thereof being at least about three times the total volume of air required for underiiring the batterystructure, directing said air-ows through the basement transversely of said battery, voiding the total volume of air required for underilring from the basement so as to eiect the underiiring of the battery struct-ure therewith, and voiding the Lair in excess of the total quantity required for underfiring the battery-structure through a plurality of air-outlets at spaced intervals along a battery-face opposite the points of introduction of said iiows of air into the basement and which outlets by-pass the underflring system and lead from said basement directly to the atmosphere.

JOSEPH VAN ACKEREN.

(References on following page) l REFERENCES CITED FOREIGN PATENTS The following references `are of record in the Number Country Date le of this patent: 187,379 Germany July 18, 1907 UNITED STATES PATENTS 213.379 Germany Oct. 5, 1909 233,801 Germany Apr. 21, 1 911 Number Name Dat@ 387,575 Germany Dec. 19. 1923 66659 BOSEY Jan- 29 1901 477,434 Germany .mme 13, 1929 2,093,013 Pavltt NOV 2 1937 497,972 Germany May 16, 193@ 2,155,954 Pavitt Apr. 25, 1939 2,306,366 Becker Dec. 29, 1942 l@ 2,309,028 Tweit Jan. 19, 1943 Certificate of Correction Patent No. 2,537,197 January 9, 1951 JOSEPH VAN ACKEREN It is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows:

Column 4, line V60, after the numeral 81 insert being; column 11, line 27, for air-avoiding read air-voiding; line 41, for the claim reference numeral 2 read 1 and that the said Letters Patent should be read as corrected above, so that the same may conform to the record of the case in the Patent Oce.

Signed and sealed ,this 6th day of March, A. D. 1951.

[SEAL-1 THOMAS F. MURPHY, y

Assistant Commissioner of Patents. 

